3 PhD positions in Hereditary & Early Onset Breast Cancer Epidemiology

3 PhD positions in Hereditary & Early Onset Breast Cancer Epidemiology About the job

TheNetherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) is recruiting three motivated and ambitious PhD students skilled in epidemiology, biostatistics or computational biology to contribute to the Hereditary & Early Onset Breast Cancer: Comprehensive Personalized Assessment, Early Risk Evaluation, and Clinical Management (HER-CARE) project.

HER-CARE is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions-Doctoral network that brings together 9 leading academic and 3 industrial partners to train a new generation of multidisciplinary researcherswith the unified goal of advancing early onset and hereditary breast cancer research.In total, the HER-CARE network will include 15 doctoral candidates across all participating institutes. In addition to conducting your primary research, you will broaden your experience through one international academic and one non-academic secondment within the HER-CARE network.

The network has three overarching aims:

to characterize spectrum of risk factors for early onset and hereditary breast cancer and its subtypes

to develop innovative approaches for risk stratification, early detection and screening of invasive breast cancer, and

to identify multi-modal markers of tumours and tumour environment to improve prediction of clinical outcomes and aid clinical decisions.

Risk and protective factors for the development of different subtypes of a second breast cancer (project 5):

The doctoral candidate for this project will develop a multifactorial, longitudinal database and perform statistical analyses to 1) identify novel factors influencing risk of second breast cancer, including common and rare germline genetic variants, immunological markers, and mammographic density and 2) study the impact of different adjuvant treatment regimens used to treat a first breast cancer impact risk of a second breast cancer. The candidate will complete secondments at the University of Oxford (UK) and Evidencio (NL).

Risk modelling and online tool for shared decision making for risk management of second breast cancer (project 10):

Current risk models and clinical assessments are limited in their ability to distinguish which patients will develop contralateral breast cancer As a result, women at low predicted risk may still opt for preventive surgeries, such as contralateral mastectomy, despite unclear survival benefits. The doctoral candidate will develop a multifactorial predictive model and online tool to assist in the shared decision-making of second breast cancer risk management, along with a roadmap for its clinical implementation. Specifically, the candidate will 1) upgrade the CanRisk tool for risk prediction of second breast cancers using the PredictCBC model, 2) validate the upgraded CanRisk tool in relevant breast cancer populations, including hereditary breast cancer survivors, and 3) integrate CanRisk and PREDICT using the Evidencio platform for integrated second breast cancer risk assessment within context of prognostication of the first breast cancer. The candidate will complete secondments at the Cambridge Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology (UK) and PHG Foundation (UK).

Genomic signatures of early onset tumours (project 12):

The distinct presentation and epidemiology of early-onset vs. late-onset breast cancer suggest biological differences between these tumours. However, the genomic determinants of these differences have not been well characterized. The doctoral candidate will characterize the unique germline and tumour genetic profiles of early-onset breast cancer to uncover their biological origins, improve detection, and identify potential treatment targets tailored to distinct genomic and immunologic profiles. Specifically, the candidate will use advanced statistical methods and programming tools (e.g., R, Python) to integrate large-scale, genomic, histological, and immunological data to identify the genomic contribution to breast cancer subtypes. The candidate will complete secondments at Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (Spain) and Methylomics (NL).

Conduct innovative, interdisciplinary research to reveal novel insights about the aetiology, progression, and clinical management of early onset and hereditary breast cancer;

Join the unique HER-CARE network that unites data-driven research with clinical translation to improve outcomes for women with hereditary and early-onset breast cancer;

Actively collaborate with other researchers within the group, the NKI, and the HER-CARE doctoral network;

Complete two secondments, with both (inter)national academic collaborators and non-academic partners;

Participate in five network-wide training events and consortium meetings;

Present your (intermediate) research results at institutional meetings, international conferences and workshops;

Publish your results in peer-reviewed journals;

Complete and defend a PhD thesis within the official appointment of four years.

What can you bring to the job?

If the challenge appeals to you and you recognize yourself in the conditions below, we would like to invite you to apply. We are looking for colleagues who meets the following criteria:

A MSc degree in epidemiology, biostatistics, bioinformatics, computational biology or a related discipline (e.g. public health, data science, population genetics etc.);

Prior experience (e.g. internship) in the field of cancer epidemiology is an asset;

Fluent in academic English, both spoken and written;

Can work independent with a problem-solving attitude;

Interdisciplinary oriented; curious and motivated to learn and apply concepts from various disciplines;

Excellent social and communication skills and can work in collaboration with others in an international team.

Eligibility criteria

As part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network requirements, the following eligibility criteria apply;

Candidates can be of any nationality, but candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their date of recruitment. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not taken into account. To demonstrate compliance, candidates will be asked in a later stage of the procedure to complete a Mobility Declaration Form and provide supporting documents covering the 36 months prior to recruitment

Candidates must not be in possession of a PhD degree

Candidates must hold a Master's degree (or equivalent) before the start of the programme or by September 2026 at the latest tot be eligible for MSCA Doctoral Networks

Your development opportunities and employment conditions

The basis for your employment conditions is in accordance with the CLA Hospitals . You will receive from us:

A temporary contract for four years, for 36 hours per week (full time)

A gross monthly salary between € 3.665